The Ecclesial and Cultural Identity of St. Thomas Christians in India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/TiCz.2024.034Keywords
Indian Christianity, Malabar, India, Culture, Inculturation, LiturgyAbstract
The St. Thomas Christians are an indigenous Indian branch of Christianity that has been an integral part of the Malabar society from the beginning of the Christian Era. Since the Indian Christianity has many distinctive characteristics, it is an interesting area for theological and cultural research. The communities that belong to both the West and East Syriac Tradition call themselves “Hindu in culture, Christian in religion, and Oriental in worship.” In this paper, the genesis of those communities has been shown, as well as an outline of their cultural and ecclesial identity.
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